


Like A Carousel

by youngavengerfeels



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Modern Bucky Barnes, Post-Avengers (2012), carousel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 14:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12322566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngavengerfeels/pseuds/youngavengerfeels
Summary: Bucky is just trying to get though his summer job as a carousel operator. He can't help but notice the unfairly attractive man who becomes a regular rider.





	Like A Carousel

**Author's Note:**

> So AO3 gave me literally every pairing expect Bucky/Steve, what's up with that? Anyway this fic is inspired by the fact that my grandparents met because my grandfather was an carousel operator.

Bucky had assumed that after the Battle of New York the tourist season would be slower than usual. He was proven wrong pretty fast. It seemed people were coming to New York in droves hoping to see the Avengers or the wreckage from the battle. It made Bucky’s boss happy as it drove more visitors to the park. Bucky on the other hand was not super happy about even more people cramming into Coney Island. At least his station was normally pretty quiet. The Carousel was ancient and while it was a park classic, it was also really boring. Bucky spent most of the day trying not to rip his ears off from having to listen to the music over and over again. 

Really as a master’s student Bucky should really be working at in internship in his field and not the same job that paid his way through undergrad, but his boss was really good about being flexible with his school schedule and there worse jobs. It wasn’t like Bucky wasn’t trying to get an internship in his field, he was just having a rough time of it and working at Coney Island as a ride attendant paid the bills in the meantime. He would drop the job in a heartbeat of an internship came along. In the meantime though he was stuck at the carousel day in and day out. 

Bucky never really understood the appeal of the carousel. It just went in circles so it wasn’t even exciting. The horses were creepy as fuck, he had had multiple alcohol induced nightmares about those dead eyes. The carousel wasn’t even that romantic. The ferris wheel was obviously the superior choice for a date.

Bucky hadn’t had a patron come by in twenty minutes which was actually kind of nice because it gave him the opportunity to wipe down the ride. He really didn’t want to think about how many germs were on those horses. He had to put a little elbow grease into one particular horse and when he finally stood back up he realized a man was waiting by the gate. It was just one man, no children in sight which Bucky noted with mild interest. The man was dressed in a plaid button down and khakis which was an odd choice for a summer day at the amusement park. 

“Sorry sir, I’ll be right there,” Bucky said hoping the guy wasn’t the kind of asshole who would go complaining to his boss about having to wait. 

“It's no problem,” The man said in a wonderfully deep voice.

Bucky took his ticket and let him take his pick of horses. He watched with mild interest as the man wondering between the horses a slight frown on his face. His hand came up to trial against a few of the horses. Finally he settled on a pretty black and white one. Once he was seated Bucky turned on the ride and the carousel started turning. As the ride came to a slow stop the man was equally slow getting of the ride. Bucky would be annoyed, but it wasn’t like the guy was holding up a line or anything. The guy exited and walked right back to the entrance gate.Bucky took another two tickets and let the man pick another horse. The man ende dup riding the carousel six time sin a row before leaving. It was a little weird but Bucky didn’t really think of it again, until the mad started showing up on the regular.

Normally the guy just came rode the carousel a couple of times and then left, although he didn't always go far. Bucky had noticed the man sitting in the bench facing the ride for almost an hour the other day. Today though the guy just kept getting back on.After yet another ride the man stood at the entrance, having let a family of six pile on before him.

The guy fumbled in his pocket searching for tickets only to come back empty handed. It was probably for the best, he had rode the damn carousel for two hours straight. Bucky wasn't sure how the guy wasn't getting motion sickness or something.

“Oh, sorry. Let me go buy more,” the guy said gesturing toward the ticket booth.

“You know it's cheaper to buy a bracelet than buy tickets for each ride,” Bucky said, lord knows that guy was going to get his money worth on the merry go round alone.

“Thanks,” the guy said sheepishly as he wandered off toward the ticketing booth. Bucky got the carousel going for the one kid and teen couple that were ready to go. By the time the ride was over he was already back in line bracelet on his wrist. The blond smiled shyly at Bucky who grinned widely at him as he let him find a horse.

Bucky really studied the guy every time he passed Bucky’s spot at the operator's booth. On the fifth pass Bucky realized that holy shit that was Captain America. Bucky was surprised that he didn’t recognize the man sooner considering he was all over the news helping with the clean up and his face had been plastered over every history textbook Bucky had ever been forced to read. He was kind of freaking out now that he knew the person who was depression riding his carousel was Captain fucking America.

Bucky wasn't really sure what to do with this information. He had walked news anchors wonder about what Captain America did in his free time last night, and now he knew; when he wasn't saving the world or helping with recovery efforts Steve Rogers came to Coney Island and rode the merry go round for hours on end. It was actually kind of more depressing now that Bucky knew he wasn't just some weirdo.

He also had no idea what to do with this information. He obviously couldn’t tell anyone, because one they would never believe that Captain America spent a good amount of his free time riding the carousel at Coney Island and two he didn’t want to invade the man’s privacy. If anyone deserved some privacy it was Captain America. So in the end Bucky did nothing. It really didn’t affect his job if Captain America wanted to spend his afternoon riding the carousel. It really wasn’t any of his business, even if he really wanted to know what was up with Steve.

Life went on pretty much the same. No one but Bucky seemed to cotton on to the fact that Captain America spent an obscene amount of time at Coney Island. It was almost like he didn’t have anything better to do. Bucky spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to imagine what else Steve could be getting up to, but to be fair his job was kind of really boring.

Bucky was fucking miserable. It was freaking hot and he had forgotten his water bottle and lunch. He was working a 10 hour shift because he was nice and covering for someone but he was regretting that now. By the time he made it to his normal station at the carousel he was done with everything. He was dehydrated, hot, and the music from the carousel was not helping his headache.

He was wilting at his station when a bad and bottle of water dropped in front of him, making him jump. He looked up to see Steve staring sheepishly down at him. 

“What's this?” Bucky asked staring at the bag and bottle of water suspiciously. 

“I could hear you stomach growling over the music and you look really red. I thought you could use some food,” Steve said with a small shrug and the first smile Bucky had seen on his face. He would have marveled at that if he wasn't mortified that apparently his stomach was loud enough for the super soldier to hear. He looked at Steve again and realized the guy was shitting him. He was being teased by a historical figure. 

“Thanks, you really didn't have to do this,” Bucky said already digging in not caring he was on the clock at his booth. The one person who wanted to ride the carousel was standing next to him so he wasn't hurting anyone. 

“I wanted to,” Steve said with a shrug. Bucky was already inhaling the greasy fries when he realized he knew who Steve was but Steve didn't know Bucky’s name. 

“I'm Bucky by the way,” Bucky said. 

“Bucky? Is it short for something?” Steve asked.

“James Buchanan,” Bucky explained having gone through this exact conversation a million times.

“You're parents named you after the president who failed to prevent the civil war?” Steve asked eyebrow raised. 

“Better than the four Steve Rogers in my 1st grade class. At least my parents picked a unique historical figure,” Bucky teased. Steve let out a laugh at that which made Bucky happy. He didn’t want to offend Steve in their first conversation.

“So you recognized me,” Steve said sounding a mix of sheepishness and disappointment. Bucky studied Steve for a moment. 

“Yeah, it's hard not to when your instructional videos are played in literally every school every year,” Bucky said. 

“Oh god, they actually used those?” Steve moaned making Bucky laugh. He was kind of surprised at how easy it was to talk to Steve. Like the guy was a ledge from the past, Bucky would never have expected him to be able to relate or casually joke. He had always pictured everyone from the forties as black and white pictures and movies he saw. Looking at Steve now, face flushed with mortification, he looked surprisingly Normal. Sure his clothes were a little dated and he had questionable pass times but other than that Steve could have been any other millennial. It was kind of rocking Bucky’s world. 

Steve started to linger around the operator's booth more often. Most of the time he brought Bucky water or food which Bucky always tried to say no to, but how could anyone say no to Steve’s big blue eyes? Talking to Steve was Bucky’s favorite part of work. He did have some regular patrons who would talk to him about their lives, but they were mainly older people who seemed kind of lonely. Steve seemed lonely, but like he genuinely wanted to get to know Bucky and be his friend. It was pretty surreal. 

He was extremely disappointed to come in one morning and find out he was being moved to concessions because the carousel was due for maintenance. Bucky hated running concessions. People tended to ignore the ride attendants so hardly anyone even looked at him let alone yelled at him, but whenever he worked concessions he spent most of his shift being yelled out. He never understood why people felt the need to yell at service workers. It was like they forgot that the people who gave them their food were human too. He was banished to concessions though while the carousel was being renovated. He was also a little sad that he probably wouldn’t see Steve. 

He was momentarily thrown for a loop though when he looked up to take the next patron's order to find Steve standing in front of him looking so incredibly lost and dejected. 

“What's going on with the carousel?” Steve asked in the most heart stricken voice Bucky had ever heard in reference to a carousel. 

“The carousel is privately owned and the owner is taking it in for restoration,” Bucky explained. He didn't know how old the carousel was exactly but it certainly needed the repair. The horses were already creepy in Bucky’s opinion but as the paint chipped and peeled it really only made it worse.

“Oh,” Steve said sounding dejected. 

“Are you ok?” Bucky asked. He looked past Steve at the growing line and annoyed patrons. He didn’t want to brush Steve off but he also didn’t want to hold up the line. 

“Yeah, yeah I'm fine,” Steve said in a clearly not fine tone. He looked a little lost.

“You don't have to bullshit me, I've seen you almost everyday for like the past month, I can see you're not ok,” Bucky said. “I just want to let you know that if you ever need someone to talk to other than a metal horse I'm here,” Bucky offered not expecting anything, sometimes just knowing someone would listen was a comfort. To his surprise Steve gave him a shaky smile and nodded. 

Bucky quickly let his supervisor know he was taking his lunch break and ushered for Steve to come with him. He normally avoided eating at the park at all costs but if he was going to have an emotional conversation with a national icon they were going to eat hot dogs to lighten the mood. They got their hot dogs and found themselves on the beach that faced the carousel which was kind of depressing with all of the fences around it and missing horses. It kind of made the carousel look like a crime scene, with the horses as the murder victims. 

“So what's up with you and the carousel?” Bucky prompted. He didn't want Steve to think he was pressuring him but he actually was really curious about this particular topic.He also had a very limited window for this conversation to actually take place since he was on his lunch break. 

“My mother used to bring me here. It took a lot of scrimping and saving on her part and we only made it a couple of times but at the time Coney Island might as well have been the Grand Canyon,” Steve said fondly. Bucky felt a little guilty about his twice a year family vacations. “I couldn't handle almost any of the rides but I still loved coming here. We ended up on the carousel more often than not. After coming out of the ice I found out that they still have the same carousel after all this time. The horses have a new coat of paint but they're still the same,” Steve said looking nostalgic. 

Bucky couldn't help but think that he was right when he compared Steve to a depressed old man trying to relive childhood memories because that was exactly what Steve had been doing. It was kind of wild to think that the carousel that Bucky operated was the same one that little baby Steve Rogers had rode all those years ago. He knew the thing was historic but he had never thought about what that actually meant. It made him think about all the people who had ridden the carousel and wondered what it had meant to them, if it had touched anyone else like it had obviously touched Steve. 

“Wow, thanks for sharing that with me Steve. Your mother sounds like she was an amazing person,” Bucky said unsure of what he should said after Steve’s confession. He had never been the best had comforting emotional friends. He was more of the stand six feet back and pat with a broom kind of friend. He didn’t want to leave Steve hanging though, the guy looked so incredibly young with his eyes a little watery and nostalgic look on his face. 

“She really was. Being here made me feel like I still had a part of her,” Steve said. 

“They are bringing the carousel back, just in better condition. Kind of like you after the serum,” Bucky said adding the weak joke in to try and lighten the mood. Steve obliged him and gave a small smile. 

“When I was little I really wanted to help design carousel horses. Coney Island was famous for their style. I used to draw them all the time,” Steve said like he was admitting some big secret, which maybe it was. 

Every history textbook talked about how Steve Rogers was poor as heck but that hadn’t stopped him from pulling himself up by the bootstraps and becoming the American Icon he was today. Considering how poor Steve had been, maybe daydreaming about being a carousel artist was a secret fantasy that Steve had never told anyone about. Bucky suddenly realized he had become Steve’s confusion. He straighten his back and made a silent vow not to betray Steve’s tryst. 

“You know I bet the owner would let you restore one of the horses if you asked,” Bucky said the idea just forming as he said it. He had no idea if it was something the owner would allow but he was pretty sure no one could say no to Captain America, it was like a law or something. Bucky really wanted to help Steve make a childhood dream come true. Steve was so selfless he deserved to have his dream come true. 

“Really?” Steve asked in a tone like he didn't want to get his hopes up that made Bucky’s heart break a little bit. Steve had probably spent most of his life trying not to get his hopes up. 

“Yeah, you're Captain fucking America. If you restored one of the horses everyone would fucking want to ride to carousel and chose that horse. They would definitely never consider getting rid of it again,” Bucky said.  “Let me talk to my manager about floating the idea to the owner,” Bucky promised. Steve smiles brightly at Bucky. 

“Thanks Bucky. Not just for setting this up, but for listening to me. It means a lot to me,” Steve said making Bucky melt a little bit. Steve could tell his emotional baggage any day of the week and Bucky would be more than happy to listen. “Oh, you should probably have my number so you can call me once you know,” Steve said like it was an afterthought handing Bucky his phone, which Bucky noted was an iPhone, not the latest Stark Phone.

Bucky put his number into Steve’s phone and added the carousel horse emoji to his contact name just in case Steve forgot who was texting him. Before handing back the phone to Steve, Bucky texted himself so he would have Steve’s number. His phone buzzed in his pocket with the text. He now had an Avenger's number. A couple of weeks ago the most exciting thing in his life was picking out the most comfortable work pants for the day and now he was helping Steve Rogers fulfill a childhood dream. Life was fucking weird sometimes. 

As he suspected his boss loved the idea. The marketing for the carousel was going to make the amusement park even more popular with all of the Avengers craze going on. The owner of the carousel has been a little hesitant at first, not wanting to risk the integrity of the ride, but Bucky reminded him that Steve had been an artist before he was a soldier so this wouldn't be that out of the blue for him. He could have a professional restore the horse and then have Steve paint it. 

Telling Steve the plan had been approved made Bucky feel like he was Santa on Christmas morning. Bucky wished he had been able to tell Steve in person so he could see the excited puppy look on his face, Bucky was sure he was making, but settled for the elated tone of voice over the phone. He made sure to give Steve all of the contact information he needed to be able to get in touch with the carousel owner to figure out the logistics. 

Work was immensely less interesting without Steve showing up everyday, but apparently Steve really did consider Bucky a friend because he was constantly texting Bucky now. He got tons of picture updates of Steve’s progress on the horse. He had facetimed Steve while the blond had been picking out paint, talking over shades and Steve’s vision for the horse. While he wanted to make it his own style, he didn't want it to clash with the rest of the horses. 

Steve was putting an incredible amount of working into making the horse just right for his vision. Bucky thought it was kind of amazing to watch. He loved to listen to Steve talk about the history of the carousel which turned into stories about times his mother had taken him Coney Island when they could afford it. While Bucky had never cared one way or the other about the carousel, Steve’s raw enthusiasm was hard not to absorbed. Bucky darned anyone to stand next to Steve while he recounted the different schools of carousel design and not be fascinated. 

Steve’s texts weren’t just limited to talking about the restoration project. Steve started just texting Bucky about things he was thinking. Bucky got pictures from Steve’s life like little snap shots. Bucky also sent all of his snarky workplace comments to Steve who always replied with the laughing emoji which made Bucky smile no matter how annoyed he was with his co-workers. Bucky missed seeing Steve in person though.

Even with Steve texting him constantly Bucky was still a little surprised every time he got the notification. The fact that Steve thought Bucky was worth his time astounded Bucky. Bucky almost missed the text, he was so tired after work. He was glad he had passed on summer classes in order to work full time because there was no way he would have had the energy to do homework. He looked at his phone after collapsing on his bed and saw a text from Steve asking him to come over to Stark fucking Tower. It was actually a string of like ten texts. Steve was freaking out because the unveiling of the horse was tomorrow but was second guessing himself and wanted Bucky to come over to see it in person never mind the fact it was after midnight. It seemed after the string of texts Steve must have noticed the time because the last one was a short, ‘don’t worry about it if you're tired, I know you worked 10 hours today.’ 

He couldn't get an internship in his field but he had Steve Rogers texting him for a late night hangout. Life was wild sometimes. He quickly sent Steve a text letting him know he was on his way, and then rolled out of bed with a groan. He was so close to being able to sleep, but he didn’t want to leave Steve hanging either. 

When he finally got to Stark Tower he wasn’t sure if he could just walk in or what. The person at the desk didn't give him any trouble other than a quick glance over and am unimpressed look before pointing toward the elevators. Bucky rode the elevator to what appeared to be a workshop. He weaved between the mess of in-progress projects to get to Steve who was dutifully painting his carousel horse.

He was so focused in his work that he didn't even notice Bucky standing behind him. The horse looked better in person than all of the photos Steve had sent him. The colors were vibrant and whimsical. He wondered if this was the horse Steve would always pick when his mother had taken him to the carousel all those years ago. 

“That looks really good Steve,” Bucky said making Steve jump a little bit which Bucky found amusing. 

“Thanks. Tony wanted to ‘upgrade’ her but I vetoed that,” Steve said looking fondly at the horse. Bucky wondered if people did air quotes back in Steve’s time or if that was something new he picked up.

“Which is a damn shame if you ask me. I could have that stupid horse flying in no time,” a new voice interrupted. Bucky saw Steve roll his eyes making him look like the 20 something year old he was. Bucky looked over to see Tony Stark. Objectively he knew that Avengers Tower was owned by Tony Stark and that Tony Stark was an Avenger but he hadn't really put the two together and even thought about the fact that he might meet Tony Stark. “And you is this person I've never met in my highly classified workshop?” 

“Tony, this is Bucky,” Steve said in a begrudging voice which Bucky found kind of amusing. He didn’t realize that Captain America could sound like such a child.

“Oh, so this is Bucky,” Tony said turning to look at Bucky with a grin that made Bucky feel like he was in display. “I was beginning to think Steve made you up. It's always Bucky this and Bucky that with this guy,” Tony said jabbing his thumb toward Steve who’s face was a little red. 

“Tony,” Steve hissed glaring at the man making Bucky laugh.

“I think I am being kicked of my own lab,” Tony said in mock defense. “Lucky for you Pepper needs me. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do in here, boys. That actually leaves you with a lot of wiggle room,” Tony said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Bucky felt his own face heat up at the implication even if he did laugh. 

As Tony left the workshop yelling more innuendos, Bucky took the chance to just look at Steve. The blond looked so much more at ease than Bucky had ever seen him before. His posture was a relaxed as his military training would allow, and he had an easy smile on his face as he shouted back at Tony.  He noticed Steve looked less weary and more content. He wanted to do what he could to keep Steve looking like that. 

“Do you really think people will like it?” Steve asked looking so unlike all of the propaganda that borrowed his likeness. He looked like a unsure twenty something year old who was putting his heart on the line, scared to have it stepped on. It was kind of ridiculous because just looking at the damn horse Bucky could tell Steve was absurdly talented as an artist. Bucky felt the urge to punch whoever had made Steve doubt himself back in his own time. 

“Yeah Steve, they’re going to love it,” Bucky said. He realized then how close they were standing. Bucky could feel Steve’s breath, that’s how close they were. Bucky’s heart was jack hammering in his chest for no reason, it was just Steve. Bucky’s eyes zeroed in on Steve’s lips and for a moment Bucky leaned forward and then jerked back when he realized what he was doing. He took a step back and the haze broke.

Bucky realized pretty quickly that his real purpose being there was to distract Steve from nervously attempting to repaint the whole horse since there was no way the paint and varnish would dry in time for the unveiling the next day. Bucky had to pry paintbrushes from Steve’s hands six times before Steve finally calmed down enough to just let it go. They ended up staying up the whole night talking and watching youtube videos. Bucky showed Steve all the greats like Llamas with hats and Steve showed him some vintage videos of the World Fair and Stark Expo. Work the next day was going to be a bitch but it was worth it to help Steve calm his nerves. That’s what friends were for. 

Bucky left for work in the morning feeling slightly unfilled even though he couldn’t remember a more satisfying all nighter in a long time. Bucky shook it off and mentally prepared himself for what was going to be a hellish day

The day of the unveiling was kind of a circus. Steve had shown up in full uniform which definitely did not make Bucky hot under the collar at all. Like Bucky had promised everyone had loved Steve’s horse. Multiple history nerds had approached Steve to compliment him on his historical accuracies as if it was contemporary to Steve himself. The line for the carousel was crazy all day and Bucky ended up not being able to take a lunch break, which Steve had looked a little sheepish about. Steve kept Bucky awake with a constant stream of coffee and sugar and the promise of a fancy dinner after Bucky got off work

When Bucky’s shift was over he met up with Steve who had also changed out of his uniform only to Bucky’s slight disappointment. Bucky was already to get the fuck out of there when Steve said, “take a ride with me,” gesturing toward the carousel.

“You and that damn ride,” Bucky muttered for show. Once you got past the kind of depressing reason why Steve was obsessed with the ride, it was actually kind of sweet. “Alright, just one ride and then I am not spending anymore time in my place of work without being paid,” Bucky said letting Steve guide him through the line and hand over the tickets. He also let Steve pick the horses which meant he ended up on the one Steve painted himself. 

Bucky rolled his eyes and threw a leg over the horse settling his hands on the golden rod. The carousel jerked into motion and Bucky had to smile at the sheer enthusiasm Steve was radiating. He would have thought that after the millionth time around the carousel the ride would have lost some appeal but as Steve looked over Steve was smiling back at him. Bucky suddenly realized what had been missing the night before. 

Without thinking Bucky leaned over and pulled Steve into a kiss. For a moment the world zeroed in to his lips on Steve, the music of the carousel fading and the smell of the park a little less pungent as he could smell Steve’s aftershave. It was like the world only contained him and Steve and where their bodies met.  Then their horses pulled them apart as Bucky hit the peak and Steve started going up. 

Bucky didn’t look at Steve for the rest of the ride, praying he didn’t just ruin the best thing he had going for him. When the ride came to a lurching stop they both dismounted and quickly exited the little gate. Bucky would have kept walking but Steve grabbed his arm stopping him. 

“Why’d you do that Buck?” Steve asked eyes searching Bucky’s face. 

“Because you’re the best guy I know Steve and riding the carousel with you made me realize that I really like you, like like like you,” Bucky said apparently reverting to middle school terminology. He had just kissed the scientifically engineered perfect man, so Bucky felt like he could be forgiven for not being the best with his words at the moment. 

“I like you to Bucky. I wouldn’t mind trying that kissing thing again,” Steve said stepping forward so he was pressed right up against Bucky who didn’t even have to say anything before Steve’s lips were back on his. Bucky was going to have to reevaluate his opinion the to romantic qualities of merry go rounds because all of a sudden it was really working for him. 

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic wasn't everything I hoped it would be when I started writing it, but I like it. Let me know what you guys think.


End file.
